To Heal Your Wounds
by DragonflyxParodies
Summary: A year after the Calamity has been destroyed, Link still has not come to terms with his failures, with the death of the woman he loved more than life itself, with remembering who he was, or his growing feelings for her blindingly optimistic brother. He doesn't think he ever will. In which Mipha is remembered, Link grieves, Sidon waits, and Zelda can only watch. Post-BOTW, spoilers!
1. Camping doesn't go so well

Ruby scales flashed so brightly they blinded him, and Link reeled back in surprise as a familiar pair of serious topaz eyes appeared before him.

Half a second later massive hands grabbed his waist, and the two of them rocketed out of the water. He dropped his spear, half worried he'd stab the Zora and still too shocked to do much in the way of reactions.

He had come all the way out to the Rutala river thinking Sidon wouldn't be able to find him. Yet the Zora _always_ found him, whenever he came anywhere _near_ the Domain.

Sidon slowed as they approached the surface, and they breached with barely a ripple.

"What are you doing so far beneath the surface? Can you breathe, Link?"

He flailed, hands eventually finding Sidon's and pressing down hard on them. Sidon didn't budge—if anything he held tighter—and Link spent a moment focusing on his breathing, on calming his racing heart. Sidon bumped his forehead with his own anxiously, obviously concerned, and Link nodded towards the fish floating to their side. His catch, jarred free of the net he'd been stuffing them in thanks to the Zora. He'd dropped that too.

"…Fish? You were— _oh!_ Dear Link, I am sorry—I thought you were—" Sidon let go of him so quickly Link dropped beneath the surface of the water, and judging by the Zora's high-pitched yelp, it only served to panic him further.

Sidon grabbed him again, and Link let himself be towed to the bank of the river. Not that there was much he could do about it.

Sidon's muscles tensed, but a second later he relaxed, much to Link's relief. Instead of launching himself out of the water as Zora were so prone to do, he stopped the minute Link could touch the sand beneath them. He took hold of him again, grip much gentler as he rested a hand on Link's back.

"Are you absolutely sure that you are alright? I didn't mean to scare you so badly—I thought you were drowning." Sidon took Link's hand in his other hand, and Link stared at that, Sidon's claws resting gently on his forearm.

He forced himself to smile, shaking his head when he looked up.

"Let me—I'll retrieve your things! Give me a moment!" Sidon squeezed his arm gently, and flung himself back into the water with a thunderous splash.

Link threw himself in the other direction, though he didn't miss the wave that soaked him, and headed for shore. Cliff, technically.

He'd set up camp on the edge of the cliff above him. The climb wasn't much a bother for him, after years of practice, and he'd wanted to strain himself. Exhaust himself fishing and swimming and climbing and drop into a sleep so deep a fucking Hinox could storm up to his campfire in the night and he wouldn't notice, with the help of the couple bottles of Noble Pursuit he had stashed away.

By the time Sidon made it up the cliff he'd started a fire, and was digging through what ingredients he had on him.

"That…is quite a climb. Why camp here, if you don't mind me asking?" Sidon huffed, and despite himself Link couldn't help but smile as the Zora flopped onto the ground beside him. It took a moment to dig out his slate, and the bag of chalk he kept so carefully wrapped.

 _Clear my head_.

"…The work? Oh, dear, I'm sorry if I am intruding! If you want me to leave you alone I will, I—"

Link waved his hands frantically, cutting Sidon off. And wrote. Messy, clumsy letters.

 _Stay_.

He'd come up here to avoid him. To pretend Sidon did not exist, that Mipha did not exist, that he did not exist. He wanted to tell Sidon to leave, to not come back. But that was his pain and his anger and his fear and his guilt talking. Beneath that, more than anything, he _needed_ Sidon there. Needed to stay in the Domain, to be near what little he had left of her. Of himself. Of everything.

"Are you sure?" Sidon's tail began to wave, gently. Weakly. And then his eyes widened, concerned.

Link couldn't breathe.

"Link, are you alright? You're—you're crying."

 _Fine. What do you want for dinner?_

"I don't—Link, please, if you need anything, _please_. I am here for you. You have done more for me, for more the Domain, more for my dear sister than anyone in existence, and if I can do _anything_ to help, _please_. Let me know. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you." He was so earnest, voice so serious and his hands were warm, if still damp, as they cradled Link's face.

Link looked away, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to focus on his breathing. As he continued to cry.

Sidon pulled him into an embrace, and Link let him. Couldn't say no, couldn't bring himself to resist.

"I worry, you know. This weight you bear drowns you." It was that, his worry and his sincerity that made Link pull himself together. Sidon didn't let go of him until the Zora was sure he was alright, and only moved a short distance away.

Link tapped his finger against his slate, again.

 _What do you want for dinner?_

"Oh, anything you want! Please, Link, I've no wish to be a burden. I can cook! Only fish, I'm afraid—have you ever tried sushi?"

And, Hylia bless him, Sidon moved on as if nothing had happened.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **This'll be a series of oneshots, all connected to one another, surrounding the relationships between our favorite Zora siblings and their itty bitty Hylian. This will contain spoilers for BOTW. It'll cover stuff before the Calamity, after it, and during. It'll jump around, of course. Main romantic pairings are gonna be Mipha/Link and Sidon/Link (sidlink? Is that the unofficial official term now?), and Urbosa/Zelda (bc holy shit guys). Expect lots of non-romantic stuff in this though, and if you think this is going to be the fluff express get out while you still can lmao.**

 **Hope you all have a great day, and lemme know what you think!**


	2. baby sharks are cute

He was thirteen when Sidon hatched, and Link met him for the first time on the day he first kissed Mipha. His father had dropped him off in the domain, deeming whatever mission he'd been given too dangerous for his son. She had met them in the central plaza, scales a brighter and deeper shade of red than they had been the last time Link had seen her. He remembered how beautiful she'd looked, delicate silver filigree on her brow and wrists and throat. Sky-blue gemstones dripping from her trident and her jewelry, fins fluttering in the morning breeze.

"It's been so long!" She'd admonished, but she'd thrown her arms around his neck and they'd stood there, hugging, for a long moment. After her customary check for any injuries—and subsequent healing of a briar scratch on his palm and a skinned knee—she'd taken his hands. She'd been bouncing on the balls of her feet, topaz eyes sparkling.

"Guess what, Link?" She'd asked softly.

"What?"

"I have a baby brother! Do you—would you like to meet him?"

"Of course!" He'd said softly, eyes wide. He hadn't even known Mipha's mother was pregnant. He'd craned his head around to ask his father…something—maybe just to say goodbye? A century later and he could not recall what—but his father was striding away, blue scarf tails fluttering in the breeze.

He never remembered his father's face, or the sound of his voice. Mipha's eyes, her smile, her teasing—that was the first real memory that had come to him, left him gasping and shaking before her memorial.

Mipha had taken his hands in her own then, pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as he swallowed back the pain the sight brought, and whispered to follow her.

She'd led him down spiral staircases and slippery waterways, down to the surface of the water below the Domain and towards a slender, diamond-bright waterfall across the lake. He was a strong swimmer—had to be, with the amount of time he spent in the Domain—and only began to lag when they reached the fall itself.

Its water hadn't thundered down and no overwhelming spray choked him as they approached. Mipha's arm had been firm around his chest as she began to swim up the fall. He realized why when she suddenly drove them forward, rather than breaching the top of the fall. She was only a head taller than him, but she was incredible. Her strength, her ability to adjust to his extra weight like it was nothing.

They fell into a cave unlike any he'd ever seen, and he could only gape.

The cave was just tall enough for an adult Zora to stand comfortably, and circular. A tunnel led further back, opening into another circular chamber—and then another, and another, until the luminous stone webbing its way through the blue stone of the Domain grew too distant to make out clearly. The floor of the caves was filled with small, shallow pools carved directly into the rock. It was warm, and each pool steamed gently in the blue light.

" _Wow."_ Link breathed, and Mipha had giggled when she'd stood.

"These are the hatching pools. We lay our eggs here, and they hatch. They stay here until they're big enough to swim on their own. My brother's farther in—careful not to step in any of the pools!"

After he'd regained his memories of her, he had asked Sidon where the hatching pools were. He had been unable to find the waterfall that concealed its entrance. And Sidon's eyes had grown grave, his expression solemn as he looked towards a rough, uneven section of cliff. In the war after the Champions had fallen, he'd said, a Guardian had crept past their defenses. It had slipped, and tumbled directly into the pools. The resulting explosion, when they had finally brought it down, had destroyed the entire cave system. Now hatchlings were kept beneath the waters, in caverns so deep only the Zora could ever reach them.

He'd followed her through a few of the chambers, studying the pools with wide eyes. Some were covered in eggs, little navy bubbles floating on the water, stuck to one another like metal to a magnet. Others had a lone hatchling swimming around their depths, though Mipha didn't pause long enough for Link to see them. Not all of the pools contained hatchlings, but Link couldn't help but stare in awe.

"Here!" She'd breathed, and he knelt with her at the edge of one of the many pools. And he got to see a Zora hatchling for the first time.

Mipha's brother had been tiny. Small enough to sit in his hands, if Link held them outstretched side-by-side. He'd looked a little like a chubby tadpole, Link had thought. He didn't have arms or legs, and his fins were small and rounded. He was just as red as Mipha, with round eyes the same color as hers. His head tail was just beginning to form, the arrow-shape of it just beginning to differentiate itself from the rest of his body, and when he swam towards them Link could see that the underside of his belly was a pale peach color.

"His name is Sidon."

"…Sidon…" Link had repeated, and reached out to touch the hatchling, swimming in lazy circles while staring up at him. His little mouth opened to a row of large, pointed teeth—only a single row, unlike Mipha—and a soft _meep_ escaped him as he moved closer.

Mipha had grabbed his hand and pulled it back, gasping.

"No—don't do that! We're—he'll bite you."

"…What?"

"We're—the Zora are carnivores, Link. And hatchlings are all instinct. They feed until they get big enough to leave the hatching pool." He'd realized how nervous Mipha was then, her eyes glued on her brother as she spoke. She'd scooped him up then, and he had watched as Sidon began nipping at her palms, her scales too tough for his little teeth to bite through.

"We lay a lot of eggs, but only one or two hatchlings ever survive. They're hungry and territorial, and run entirely on instincts. We've tried putting a single egg in each pool, but then they all get sick and wither away. If we give them too much food they get too aggressive and don't adjust properly."

He leaned into her as she spoke, and she smiled at him, stroking her brother's back gently. Sidon seemed to give up on biting, and let out a low thrum at her touch, nuzzling into her hand.

"He's adorable." He had whispered, awed, wishing he could touch the hatchling too. He had thought, then, that it was his lack of scales that posed the problem. That he was meat and flesh and that was the end of it, the only reason she was telling him so much.

Years later he would realize what she had been trying to explain, that her nervousness had been her fear of him rejecting her. Hatchlings ate one another, until only the strongest were left. They were carnivores, instincts driving them to survive beyond anything else. When he would tell her, all those years later, she would freeze, and he would whisper that it didn't change a thing.

She'd looked up at him, lips parted into a smile, and before Link could think too much about what he was doing he leaned forward and kissed her.

And she kissed him back.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Guys holy shit let me know if the tense changing fucked w/you too I just gave up after a while.**

 **Hatchling Sidon is entirely inspired by skyfangz ( skyfangz. tumblr ) brilliant drawings on tumblr, seriously go check them out because I literally cannot picture little Sidon as anything else after seeing them omg.**

 **Also guys wtf Ghirahim has gotten his ass kicked in terms of lipstick skills bc Mipha is fucking slaying it.**


	3. in which momma riju indirectly steps in

"What are you doing, little Hylian?" Ashai's voice startled him, and he turned as she sauntered up to him, surprised. Riju let him creep on the roof of her palace—the Sand Castle, the Gerudo jokingly called it—when he couldn't sleep, but he hadn't thought anybody else knew about it.

She dropped down beside him, chuckling while he scrambled to find his slate and chalk.

 _Couldn't sleep_.

"Nightmares again?" He hesitated for a moment before nodding. She put an arm around his shoulders, leaning into him with a sigh.

Screaming, shapeless figures. Voices he thought he might recognize, if he could hear them clearly. Guilt. His dreams were more a collection of sounds and feelings than a true dream, but they were horrifying nonetheless.

 _I am worried._

"About what?"

 _Whoever I was before I died wasn't strong enough to save anybody, even myself. How am I any different now?_

It wasn't what he meant to write, but it was something that weighed on him heavily. He didn't remember anything about who he was. What Impa had told him in Kakariko had horrified him, and though she'd said she was sympathetic he couldn't believe her. Why dump all of that on him—how badly he had apparently failed, that he was the reason Hyrule was in ruins—if she knew what he'd been through? What he was going through?

"Chief Riju's been looking through old records, from before the Calamity, for that very reason."

He froze.

"Lady Urbosa kept journals—every important figure must, especially those that deal with foreign affairs. She wrote extensively of how suffocating your people were, to you and the Princess. She said you stopped talking entirely because of the pressure. Princess Mipha of the Zora apparently refused to take on the mantle of Champion if the Hylian King didn't turn you over to the Zora at one point, to get out of that. That's something you probably didn't know, right? You were raised with the fishfolk." She added with a smirk, nudging his side.

That was more information than he knew what to do with. He'd been absolutely fucking _terrified_ for a moment, that Riju didn't trust him or, worse, thought him as much a failure as he did himself.

The Zora, though? He'd heard of them, but he'd yet to see one. Their Domain had been inaccessible since the Calamity to all but the most determined travelers, Barta had told him once. A tingle ran down his spine—hope? Excitement?—and he knew immediately that he would be heading there after Vah Naboris was stopped. Maybe they knew something of his past. Or could, at the very least, answer some questions.

 _Why?_ _What's that got to do with it?_

Ashai rolled her eyes, and sat up. She should, he realized a little belatedly, be teaching her cooking class. Had she come up just to tell him that?

"Have you ever noticed how spectacularly horribly you do under pressure? Hylia's sake, when Leena grabbed you the other day and I thought you were going to pass out!"

 _I thought she found out! She grabbed my ass!_ He scribbled furiously, jabbing the slate at her as she laughed.

"Leena wouldn't touch a voe with a ten-foot pole, and it was an _ass_. It isn't like she's the first vai to grab you there." She was not wrong, but that didn't make the heat burning on his cheeks go anywhere.

He never knew what to do when anybody hit on him. Ashai had had to rescue him from the creep camping out in front of Gerudo Town more times than he could count, and though the vai in town were not at all creepy they were just as pushy. It was confusing. He didn't know who knew he was really a voe and who thought he was a vai, and Riju had ordered him to keep it under wraps—she was _terrifying_ when she'd been disobeyed.

" _Anyway_ , you won't have to deal with that this time. It's still a burden, but we're not going to treat you badly for what you're doing. And…we're prepared to fight with you. If anything happens. We held off the Calamity once, and we can do it again. Chief's orders."

Link pressed his face into his hands at that, squeezing his eyes shut. She pressed a hand to his back, rubbing it reassuringly. It took a moment to get control of himself, to fight back the tears stinging at his eyes, the relief that brought him.

He wasn't sure about her theory about the pressure being his downfall, but…it felt true. That was one thing he'd never been able to understand—why feeling like he could breathe, since he'd been awake, had been such a strange feeling. The ability to rest—being _ordered_ to rest by Riju—rather than thrown at the next task like Impa had tried to do meant so much to him. Helped ease his nightmares somewhat, though he still had them nightly.

He reached for his slate again.

 _Didn't Lady Urbosa die because of me?_

"No, sweetheart. She died at the hands of the Calamity. Never forget that. You're one of us now, little Hylian."

She stood, pulling him up with her. Smiled a sharp sort of smile, looking behind them, towards the cliffs that hid Hyrule Castle from their view.

"And the Gerudo _always_ get justice."


	4. revali is a dick

" _What are you doing?!"_ Mipha's roar was all ferocity and all violence, and all three boys freeze at the sound of it.

Revali was mid-air, three arrows notched and tips sparking with electricity in his bow. Link stood with his feet apart and blade at the ready, broken shafts littering Medoh's surface around him like snow. Daruk was balanced precariously on one foot, hands spread in the beginnings of a thunderous clap.

"…Training?" Revali's excuse fell pathetically flat, but the sound of it spurred the boys into action. They lowered their weapons and returned to Medoh's surface, though only Daruk looked sheepish. Link looked disappointed, on the verge of protest, and Revali was studiously ignoring her eyes.

" _You are trying to kill Link."_ She hissed, tail whipping sharply through the air as she jabbed her trident at the Rito. He held his wings up in protest, and then seemed to realize that he was still holding his bow and dropped it as if it is on fire.

"We are _competing_. I told him he couldn't beat me in a fight, and Daruk pointed out that we fight too differently to go head-to-head."

"Yeah, the little guy's doing fine, Mipha! He's knocked every arrow Revali's shot right out of the sky!"

Revali's head snapped around and his beak clacked dangerously as he glared at the Goron, but he was wise enough to not say a word.

Mipha closed her eyes for a moment, and turned to face Daruk.

"I expected more from you! You are supposed to be a _champion!_ In charge of Hyrule's safety! And you let this dry-scaled wet-feathered _prick_ try to _kill_ the only chance we have against the Calamity?!"

Revali squawked in indignation, but he didn't seem to know what to do with himself. If it were Link yelling, he would have snarked back. Urbosa, he would have sulked. Daruk would have said it good-naturedly, and Revali would have responded in kind. Mipha, though? He had no idea and his wingtips fluttered anxiously as he struggled with that.

Link caught her trident before she could stab Daruk, pulling it from her as he drew her into a hug.

He started drawing letters onto her skin, and Mipha held her anger in check long enough to decipher what he was trying to say.

And then had to pretend she was only hugging Link back and not like she was turning to jelly at how sweet he was being.

He told her that he was having fun, that Revali was too. That they were training and practicing and goofing off and would she please just let them continue, and please sit down with Urbosa and watch. And that she was the most beautiful, sweetest person he knew and he appreciated how protective she is of him.

Wait.

"Ur—" She turned, shock giving her back her strength as she pulled out of Link's embrace and stared at a canopy set up a ways away. And Urbosa reclining amidst a mountain of blankets and pillows.

"Where is Princess Zelda?" Mipha took the time to ask, trying to reorder her thoughts.

 _Urbosa knew?_ Urbosa had been _watching_? She'd been _letting_ Revali be a bastard, bully Link?!

"In the control room. She said she wanted to know why Medoh choses to protect the Rito or some such. Clearly it's because we are the finest archers in Hyrule and Medoh appreciates that—but you know how she is." Revali sighed, waving a wing vapidly in the general direction of 'below'.

Link's fingers started to move again, asked if it was okay if they went back to practicing.

Mipha melted at that. Again.

He was having fun, here. Being shot at as if he were a target. She was furious with Revali—the Rito had _not_ done it because it was fun, no matter what Link said—but Link…he looked so _excited_ , so _vibrant_. It was rare to see now. Had been nearly nonexistent if they weren't alone, or he wasn't home with her, since even before he had pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal.

And she knew how desperately he needed that. She wouldn't be the one to take it from him.

"…Alright. But be _careful_. And if anything happens to him, Revali, I will hurt you." Mipha added, though she did put away her trident and allow Link to lead her to where the Gerudo Champion relaxed.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, out of sight from the boys—though in full view of Urbosa—before jogging back to where Revali and Daruk waited.

Urbosa's blue lips were painted in a wide smirk, head tilted up to stare at her better.

"So." She drawled, as Mipha settled beside her.

"Please don't say anything."

The Gerudo patted her thigh, jewelry jangling pleasantly as she did so. The reassurance was silent, and definitely meant that the Gerudo was _not_ promising to not tease them, but it still helped Mipha relax.

"You know they'd support you." Urbosa said, nodding towards the boys. Revali had taken to the air again, though he kept shooting them wary looks and had yet to fire an arrow. Link was taunting him, arms wide and gesturing dramatically at his unprotected chest. Mipha didn't respond immediately, waited until Revali took notice of Link's taunting and began firing with a shrill screech or rage. Daruk's laughter was loud enough to drown out the twang of the bow, the clash of arrows and metal. And Mipha sighed.

"Do you know what would happen if the world were to find out he is mine? He is sworn to protect the Hylian Princess, in service to the Hylian King. My people demand strength in a spouse, his demand status. And pretty sword or not, he has nothing from his father's name. It would kill him." The Zora knew, already accepted him as worthy. He'd made sure to challenge every one of her father's guards to duels after he'd found out what besting them would mean. But the Hylians? So protective over their royal family, so volatile with even the Sheikah?

"Not you? Darling, you don't need to stand so tall for him all the time."

"Who else will do it?" Mipha replied, turning from where her hero fought and meeting Urbosa's waiting gaze.

Urbosa's eyes lit with a knowing light, and she smiled and patted Mipha's thigh again. Mipha put her hand over the Gerudo's, signaling her gratitude for the offer, for the questions. The concern.

"Have you marked her, yet?"

That startled a surprised laugh out of the Gerudo Champion, and Mipha smiled sweetly at her. It may have been a low blow for her, but digging at Urbosa about her relationship with the Princess was simply returning the favor.

"I am much more interested in keeping her safe from her father's wrath. Same as you, with your little knight."

"At least he's taller than your Princess." Mipha sniffed, and again, Urbosa laughed. The height jokes never ended with her, but she was rather good-natured about Mipha replying in kind.

"So—does that mean _you've_ marked _him?"_ Urbosa asked pointedly, and Mipha blushed. Urbosa was the only person she could speak to about Link, about their relationship, and she did so frequently. Link knew, of course—it was _his_ private life too—but he didn't mind.

She debated not answering, and then hid her smile behind a hand as she looked to Link, flailing around like a madman. Revali had run out of arrows, it seemed, and he was now just trying to smack Link with whatever he had on hands be that bow, wings, or talons. And still failing miserably.

"Nowhere noticeable." His thighs, his hips. The Zora would know what they were, if they ever saw them. To anyone else they would be scars, but…

"Vicious little thing, aren't you?"

Mipha couldn't help but laugh at that, and the noise rose above the boys' shouting and the clank of Vah Medoh's wings like fireflies.


	5. sharks go ROAR

Sidon fell face-first into his sleeping pool, and didn't move until he'd sunk to the bottom. And then didn't move some more.

He could still smell Link's blood on him, the tang of electricity and the musky scent Sidon barely recognized as Vah Ruta's.

The Divine Beast had gone wild after Link had entered it, flailing and roaring, spraying water so high Sidon thought it might touch the sun. And then it had screamed, as if it was being ripped apart. And then Link had tumbled from its entrance, armor burnt and bleeding, shards of broken metal and wood stuck in his palms.

Sidon had rushed him to the Domain, to help, and now…there was nothing else he could do. Nothing but wait.

Wait and pretend Link's blurry eyes hadn't locked on him, gone hollow and bright with a thousand horrible emotions as he'd breathed Mipha's name, or that it hadn't been the last thing he'd said before he had passed out.

He wasn't quite sure what to think. What to feel, about any of it.

His Link was the same Link that had, all those years ago, been his sister's betrothed. The same Link he had spent ages defending from Muzu's grief-stricken hatemongering, the same Link he had seen light his sister's face up like no other. The same Link that had died with her when the Calamity had struck.

He let out a groan, the noise watery as air bubbled from his gills and rose to the surface. He flopped onto his back, staring up at the shimmering light above him.

He didn't question it, though. The scent of his blood was familiar, tickled some barely-remembered _thing_ at the back of his mind.

He remembered snippets of Link, from his childhood—bust mostly, he remembered Mipha _talking_ about him. Her scent intermingled with the same one he was currently trying to run from.

And failing. Failing spectacularly. The scent of Link's blood was stronger in the water, as it peeled off his scales and tinged the water around him red.

Worry struck him so hard it left him momentarily paralyzed, realizing _just how much blood_ was on him, but…Link was already in the healer's hands. There was nothing more Sidon could do.

He pushed himself off the floor of his pool and rocketed out of the water, landing on the stone floor with a pathetic flop. He groaned again, and tried biting on his tongue, to see if that would distract him. It just hurt, and he let out a moan of pain as he pushed himself up.

 _Hylia_ , Link's blood smelled wonderful. He wondered how Mipha had dealt with it, the smell. The taste. Oh, sweet Hylia, the _taste—_

Sidon grabbed a bottle sloshing with slick liquid and poured it over himself, scrubbing at his scales with his bare claws. He _had_ to get this stuff off of him. Now.

He promptly realized he was still dressed, and threw his ornaments into an ungainly heap on the floor before resuming the cleaning.

He was still scrubbing when someone rapped at his door, and before he had a chance to respond, Muzu stepped in.

The elderly advisor wrinkled his nose at the smell, a scowl twisting his lips.

"Can this wait?" Sidon asked hesitantly. Muzu shook his head, barbells swinging, and motioned for Sidon to step back into the water. He obeyed, washing suds and the remainder of Link's scent off, before Muzu spoke.

"…Your father plans to give him the Lightscale Trident."

Sidon pulled himself out of the pool slowly, regarding the other Zora quietly.

"I…think that that is a wise course."

Muzu looked as if he'd been struck.

"How can you say that?" Muzu half-hissed, half-gasped. Sidon gestured to a table, the stone chairs seated around it. Muzu's fists clenched, but he followed Sidon's lead and took a seat. Sidon took a long moment to order his thoughts, come up with a better explanation than _that was what his gut said was right._

"Link came here two months past with no memory of anything before his fall a century ago. Before he even knew our names he agreed to help calm Vah Ruta, and all he asked in return is that we tell him about who he was. He is not lying about his amnesia, Muzu. And he loved Mipha. Right now all he has of her is the guilt, the knowledge that she died at the hands of a monster he could not hope to stop, and that you blame him for that." He spoke slowly, solemnly.

"That is hardly—!"

"The Trident is an important relic, yes. But it was Mipha's. And while it may protect him as she so dearly would have wished for, it will be a piece of her that is _not_ steeped in grief and death. It may help him remember her as she was, as she _should_ be remembered." He meant it. It was a lesson that he'd learned the hard way, one that Muzu had only learned in part. One that Link had not learned at all, yet. But it couldn't be taught—it _had_ to be realized on one's own, or it would never fully take root.

Mipha would not have wanted her to be remembered as a dead woman failed by her lover, by a princess slain by her allies. Not even as the warrior who died protecting her people. She would have wanted to be remembered by the smiles she left behind, by the laughter and joy she brought, the healing and those she cared about. Missing her was one thing, but letting her death consume was an entirely different matter. After Link's behavior in those few conscious moments outside of Vah Ruta, Sidon knew—whatever he'd seen had him blaming himself more than he already had been.

The Trident might help fix that. He _hoped_ it might fix that.

"You stand ready to give her _killer_ her sacred weapon?" Muzu stood as he spoke, voice raspy and whispering like metal on metal.

Sidon stood as well, slamming his fist down on the table between them so hard the luminous stone shivered, hairline fractures radiating out around his hand. The noise was thunderous, explosive, and Muzu went pale as a ghost at the sound.

"You'll not speak of the man who just saved the Domain that way. You'll not compare him to that _snake_ that waits in Hyrule Castle. And you _will_ show the proper respect to Link, as the grieving widow he is. My father has given you far too much room to wag that tongue of yours, and I will not tolerate the same disrespect you spew at him. _Do you understand?"_

Sidon didn't roar, but he might as well have the way Muzu reacted. The elderly Zora paled, barbels wavering as he clenched his fists.

"Perfectly." Muzu hissed, voice almost breathless.

Sidon had argued with Muzu before, of course. But never had he truly _yelled_ , had he ever pulled rank.

He couldn't help but feel like he'd made a horrible mistake, as he watched his father's advisor stalk out.


	6. momma riju is boss

"What?" Riju asked, a slow smile pulling at her lips as she stared at him, and Link flushed. He scrubbed his hands against his thighs, the silk skirts he wore shimmering in the sunlight at the movement.

 _Am I doing the right thing?_

Riju paused at that, and then slowly sat down beside him.

"Sweetheart, you just saved the entire damn country. Of course you are."

 _I meant with Zelda_.

He underlined her name. Riju sighed, and tilted her head to the side. He watched loops of ruby hair slide over her shoulders, too nervous to meet her gaze. She was dressed in vibrant colors, deep blues and golds and greens. The town was celebrating the Calamity's defeat. She should have been out there with her people, not babysitting a princess from another age and a broken man like him.

Guilt would have consumed him, had he been anywhere else. But Riju was…her very presence staved that off. It was something they'd already been through, already dealt with, and she had already soothed that particular fear.

"What'd she do?"

 _She won't look at me. Or talk to me. And then she went upstairs._

He waited until she'd looked up from the slate before scrubbing the words off it, knowing his ears were burning and not sure what he could do about that.

"...You've been acting different, sweetheart. I think…you're remembering, aren't you?" Riju asked quietly, and her hands were warm, as they pressed against Link's cheeks.

He was crying before he knew what he was doing, and he nodded, falling into her.

Somehow he managed to smear the words screaming in his head across the slate. Managed to tell her about how _terrified_ he was, how _miserable_ his life had been before. And that all he remembered were those—flashes of misery, flashes of those memories Zelda had left for him to find, flashes of _Mipha_. How he'd failed her, failed all of them, how even though she'd been avenged he couldn't let go of that, couldn't forgive himself. How he was terrified who he had been was going to swallow him up and how _here_ , _home_ , was the only place he felt capable of breathing. How he felt like he owed Zelda something, how he'd taken her here instead of to the Domain because he couldn't handle doing that. How it was getting worse.

How much he hated himself.

She hummed a song under her breath, soft and slow, and Link clung to that. She didn't stop until he'd stopped crying, until his shoulders had stopped shaking and he could take a proper breath.

"I don't…here. Let's make a list."

He lifted his head from her shoulder, blinking at her in confusion as he rubbed at his eyes, and she smiled again.

But he didn't question her. He nodded, and dug through the bag at his hip until he found a book filled with blank pages. She'd given it to him after she'd adopted him into the clan, for his private thoughts and for when his slate ran out of room. He hadn't dared let himself write in it, not yet.

But she scrounged up a pot of ink and a quill, and rubbed gentle circles into his back as she helped him focus.

"Write down everything that's bothering you. One item at a time. Be specific as possible."

He looked up at her, let out a shaking breath, and she shook her head.

"It's alright if you can't figure it out now, sweetheart. The moment you do, though, make sure to write it down. It might take you a few days, or even a few months. And we can work through every one of them. Together, alright?"

He didn't think he could write it all down, while she watched. But there were some easier things he could, then and there.

He nodded, pressed his head against her shoulder for an instant. And then started writing.

 _1._ _Zelda doesn't like me._

 _2._ _I don't remember her, just her memories._

 _3._ _I don't want to disappear._

 _4._ _The Calamity's gone but the bloodmoons haven't stopped._

 _5._ _What if that means it's still around?_

A noise stopped Link cold and he looked up to see Zelda making her way down the stairs. He and Riju had camped out on the landing between the upper floor of the Sand Castle and her throne room, which meant that Zelda had no choice but to pass them.

She wouldn't go without a word, though. She was too polite for that.

Link closed the book and put it away, knowing the ink would smear but unable to let her see it. Unable to let Zelda see him breaking.

"Find what you were looking for, dear?" Riju asked, and she ruffled Link's hair as she stood. He stood as well, smoothing out the silks he wore and shooting her a look before trying to fix his hair.

"…I believe so. Thank you for lending me your library, Chief Riju."

"Lovely. It's about time for dinner, I'm sure. And Link, sweetheart, your makeup is smeared. Let's go fix that, and then we can head out, yes?"

She turned as she spoke, silks billowing out just enough to hide his quick movements as he threw his belongings into his satchel. He looked at her blankly for a moment before realizing what she'd said, and he couldn't help the look of absolute horror that crossed his face.

She threw her head back and laughed, but it _wasn't funny._

Barta was going to _kill_ him—she'd spent _hours_ painting his face that morning, deciding on a look that she said fit him and his silks.

"Come on, sweetheart. She won't even _know_ when I'm done with you." Riju promised, taking his hand, and he forced himself to relax.

Zelda's gaze was weighty on them, as she led him past her—calling an invitation over her shoulder, to which Zelda offered a polite smile before following. He couldn't make out the emotion there, but it felt _heavy,_ and he had to keep himself from glancing behind him every few steps.

But Riju's chatter soothed his nerves, and it seemed to calm Zelda down as well, and the tension eased. Just a little, but enough that Link relaxed.

Riju caught his gaze over her shoulder, and she smiled knowingly.


End file.
